This invention relates generally to a gripping device and more particularly to a novel gripping device designed to grip a flexible flat surface such as a bed sheet, blanket, canvas, tarpaulin or the like around an elongated form such as a cord, rope, protruding edge or the like.
It is known by most people that a bed sheet can be easily pulled out of place on the bed by a restless sleeper moving around during the sleeping process. While tucking the lower ends of the bed sheet under the mattress helps somewhat, it would be more desirable to provide a more positive way to hold the sheet in its proper place on the mattress.
Certain types of bed sheets also pose more problems for the typical sleeper that tosses and turns during the sleeping process. Sheets made of silk or satin material are especially prone to easy dislocation, since they usually have extremely smooth, slick surfaces that do not have a frictional restraining surface such as is common with cotton sheets. As a result, the prior art method of tucking the sheet edges under the mattress is usually only initially cosmetic. The first movement of the sleeper in the bed can and usually does act to pull this type of sheet out from under the mattress.
It is also known that small infants in cribs often kick off their sheets as well as blankets and their turning over will do the same thing. It would be desirable to also have some gripping device that could be used on infant beds with the device being large enough to hold both a sheet and a blanket onto the crib mattress. In addition the device would have to be formed of a size sufficiently large to prevent the infant from putting it into his mouth where it could be easily swallowed.
In the outdoor area, it is often necessary to tie down weather covers over a truckload or on a boat and the usual way is to provide a large tarpaulin with grommets sewn around the edges. A rope or cord is then threaded into the grommets and is tied down to an appropriate anchor or tie-down post. While such tie-downs are usually satisfactory for standard sizes, they require a lot of time to initially thread the rope or cord through the grommets and then to reverse the process whenever the cover is to be removed. It would be desirable to have a means of quickly and easily covering and uncovering a load as well as to be able to handle oversized bulky loads without the use of special shaped tarps with their installed grommets.
Another area of use for a new type holding device would be for outdoorsmen such as hunters, hikers or the like, who might need to set up a quick weather shelter such as a tent or lean-to during sudden weather changes or during an emergency. It would be very desirable to have such a device which could be used with lightweight covers that would not need to be prepared with grommets and could easily be packed in a knapsack or the like.